Shoe cut-out means



Sept. 13, 1932.

D. D. WILKERSON 1,877,105

SHOE GUT-OUT MEANS Filed May 29, 1929 (Tin 5% 8 I 1 in fl QMWM Afforwey 2o tended-for .flat-bedwork.

v 45 first-equality shoe.

Patented Sept. 13, 1932 i I U ITED ST TES P NT F 'CEII;

ton mm WILKERSbN, on ST. tours, MISSOURI, ASsIGNoR o1? ONE-131MB rronnitillhN L- I-IUELHORST, OFHST. Louis,- MISSOURI I Q snon com-our 'ivrnAiis V Application filed May 29,

- -My invention relatesto improvements in shoe cut-out means, andhas among the objects of invention, the production of a mechanism which will-be simple in construction, 1, easy and accurate to use, of comparatively 7 few and interchangeable parts, sturdy in design, convenient, economical, reliable, and efficient and. satisfactory for use wherever found applicable. l

The amechanism hereinafter described is particularly intended for producing the cutoutsandsimilar ornamentation on the uppers ofshoes, such cutting-out being produced upon-the partially completed shoe, or rather '15 upon the upper thereof, after the uppers have been joined together and the lining in place,.prior to the placing of the heels and soles on' the shoe. In other Words, the mechanismofthe invention is not primarilyin- After: cut-outs are formed through the leather or other material from Which the shoe is made, and through the lininginside,

thei shoe, a line of stitching is made along the boundary ofthe cut-outs, as close as possible to: the edge of the cut-outs, this stitching going through the lining too. Where the cutouts have been formed from the inside of .the shoe, cutting. toward the outside, the

' area ofsuch cut-outs willbe greater onthe inside of the shoe than on the'outside, because cutting dies taper down toward their cuttingedge. I

'VVhen subsequently stitching the lining and-leather together around these cut-outs, this stitching being done through theshoe from the outside thereof, it is very. diflicult to invariably have the needle go through the lining as well as'through the leather,,and

-40 when the lining is not caught up. bysuch stitching-the shoe is defective and will not pass inspection, and must therefore be called asecond, such second's being'salable at a smaller profit to themanufacturer than a To reducethe probability of producing seconds 'in this"manner,' among the other objects of my invention, I have provided a mechanism for producing these cut-outs, the

cutting being done from the outside of' the of the base element there isjmountedj an 1929. Serial No. 366,826.

shoe, insteadof from the inside, as :is now generally the custom. In this Way,-the.eutcuts will be oflarger area on the outsideof the shoe,.and not on the inside, and therefore the operator may sew' as close as he desires to the bounding edge ofthecut louts, and-yet be sure that the stitches will alwaysgo through the lining-underneath; Obviously, the number of defective shoes caused by not stitching through the lining will be materially reduced, if not altogether obviated. 5 Other objects of myinvention are to pro vide a mechanism of the kind described, in which separate machines needn'ot be needed for each difierent design-of cut-out,-b,ut on the contrary, the. dies may be 'interchangeably mounted, as selected. 1

Many other objects-and advantages of. the construction; herein shown and described, and uses mentioned, will be obvious to those skilled in the; art towhichthisinvention appertains, from'the disclosures hereingiven. To'this end my invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown anddescribed, and more particularly pointedgout in the claims. j

In the drawing, whereinflike reference characters ,'.indicate like on corresponding parts throughoutthe views,

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectionalyievv through my improved mechanism, showing someof the elements in elevation; a I. V

Fig. 2 is a planviewof ithe-;die-holder plaite, with one of the dies in. place therein; an I Fig. 3- is a cross-sectional view,tak'en substantially alongthe line 33 ofiFi'gL'l, with a portion ofthe mask plate broken away, .1

In the drawing, wherein I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of myinvention, 1 indicates a base memberlof any desired shape and material, preferably of some extra.

strongmaterial such as steel. At one. end

anvil member 2, the samejbeing provided with a wear plate 3 of some materialsofter than that out of which the other ,portions'of the anvil is made, so .thatthis wear plate may be renewed from time totim'e,as;need- 10c ed, the cutting die coming into contact with the wear plate during the operation of the mechanism, in a manner to be hereinafter described.

The anvil is supported above the top surface of the base element, so as to form what mightbe termed a stilt anvil by the supporting pieces 4, spaced therebetween at suitable distances apart. The wear plate may be held in place by providing a dove-tail in the top of the anvil, as at 5, and the ends of the wear plate 3 may be peened over so as to prevent movement longitudinally in the dove-tailed slot.

At the other end of the base element farthest away from the anvil, there is an upright post 6, to the upper end of which is hinged or pivoted a substantially U-shaped part 7, the legs of the latter straddling the post 6 so as to permit the required pivotal movement of the part 7 and yet prevent any excessive movement laterally of the same. A pivot pin 8 may be used to hold the parts 6 and 7 in their assembled relation, the pin 8 extending through the post 6 and being received in elongated slots 9 in the legs of the part 7. If desired, some spring means may be used to constantly urge the part 7 upwardly so that normally the pin 8 engages the lower ends of the slots 9, as shown.

A die-holder plates 10 is removably secured to the member 7, as by providing an elongated slot 11 through one end of the former, the latter being provided with a pair of bolts 12 to extend through the slot 11 to keep the plate fixed in place, against relative movement therebetween while so secured. Adjacent the other end of the plate 10 there may be one or more cut-out portions or openmgs 13, as desired, and depending upon the particular kind of ornamentation to be done, these openings being intended to receive the cut-out diesl. -Obviously the cut-out dies may have any desired configuration thereon, as indicated at 15, the cutting edges of the die being tapered down toward their lower ends, in the well-known manner, as shown, the openings through the dies perferably extending clear through the dies so as to make the latter self-cleaning. Any number of dies each of different design, may be removably inserted into the die-opening of the plate 10, ust 'so that the bounding edges of the die are of the same size as the opening 13.

Between the die and anvil, there is interposed a plate 16, thelatter being so positioned that it will be substantially parallel to and spaced slightly above the anvil top, somewhat in the manner shown, so that when the shoe 17 is placed on the top of the anvil, the plate 16 will hold the shoe down or act as a clamp therefor. The plate 16 is provided with an opening 18 therethrough to corre spond with the outline of the die cutting edges, so that said plate may be used as a mask or gauge with which to properly align up the shoe with any predetermined points or stitch lines, etc., the plate 16 serving the additional purpose of a stripper for the dies.

As there must be a different plate 16 for each different die, it is desirable that the combination stripper plates and mask plates, be quickly interchangeable, and to this end I have provided an upright member 19 secured to the base adjacent the post 6,the top of said upright member being provided with projections 20, such as dowel pins or the like, adapted to extend through elongated slots 21 provided at the corresponding end of the plate 16. Thumb nuts 22 may be used for holding the plates in position upon the top of the member 19.

Where it is desired to cut out but a single design, the particular die may be inserted into but one of the openings 13 of the holder plate, 3

or if preferred, a different plate having the single opening centrally located therein may be used, the plate 16 having one or more openings therethrough to correspond with the number of dies and the position of the latter in the holder plate.

In actual service, the complete anvil, together with its dies and plates, may be used as part of another mechanism, so that the power for the cutting will be mechanically supplied. When so used, the operator will place the shoe upper on the work-supporting face of the anvil, beneath the mask plate, first taking care to align up the work with some predetermined gauge line or mark, in which i.

position the plate 16 acts as a sort of clamp to hold the work in place and assisting the operator in so doing.

The power tripper is then actuated, as by a foot treadle or otherwise, to bring down the uplifted die overhead the work, downwardly upon the same to thereby out the design of the die through the material of'the shoe, including the lining thereof. Obviously, with such an overhead cut, the outer surface of the shoe material will have the cutout portions thereof of larger area than the inner area of the cutouts. In the subsequentstitching operation, wherein the lining is stitched to the shoe leather, or other material out of which the shoe may be made, all stitches that go through the outside of the shoe around the bounding edges of thecut-outs will necessarily go through the lining of the shoe, and thus do away with shoe spoilage from this source.

The overhead of the shoe factory is materially reduced by the employment of the principles of this invention, because not only will the cost of producing the dies be decreased on account of their being produced in quantity amounts, but fewer anvils will be required, as a large number of different dies may be interchangeably used with but a single anvil assembly.

The cutting edges of the dies will last over long periods of usage, as the cutting surface upon the wear plate will be even and unbroken, thereby enabling the dies to cut uniformly and evenly. I Whenever it is desired to re place the wear plates with another, all that is required is that the wear platerbe given a blow at one end so that the opposite end will be projected beyond the corresponding end of the anvil plate, and then the Wear plate maybe easily and quickly removed and another inserted in its stead.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit of my invention; hence I do not wishto be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described, or uses mentioned, except as limited by the claims.

What I claim as new by Letters Patent is:

1. A shoe cut-out mechanism of the kind described, comprising a work-supporting stilt anvil member, a work-cutting die mounted above said member and movable thereagainst, and stationary work-holdinggauge means interposed between said member and die and adapted to frictionally hold said work on said member.

2. A mechanism of the kind described, comprising a work-supporting member, a movable work-cutting member co-operable therewith, said first-mentioned member having a plane upper surface upon which said work may be positioned and supported, and a mask plate interposed between said members and spaced above said work'supporting member and adapted to receive said work thereunder.

and desire to secure 3. A shoe cut-out mechanism, comprising a work-supporting anvil adapted to receive a piece of work thereon, a work-ornamenting die movable to and from said anvil from above, and a mask plate detachably fixed in position parallel with and above said anvil and forming a gauge for the work therebelow upon said anvil. V

4. A shoe cut-out mechanism of the kind described, comprising a base having a workslipporting member, a die holder adapted to detachably receive. a cut-out die member connected to said base to be above said worksupporting member, and a mask element intermediate said members.

5. A shoe cut-out mechanism, comprising 6. shoe-ornamenting machine of the kind described, comprising a work-supporting member, a detachable ornamenting die above said member to co-operate therewith, said work-supporting member having no cut-outs through its surface corresponding withsaid die, and a combined work-holding plate and gauge detachably fixed above the surface of said work-supporting member, said plate having a cut-out portion for the passage of said die and acting as a stripper for said die.

7. In a device of the kind described and in combination, a base member having a worksupporting anvil thereon, a die-plate holder pivotally mounted on said base so as to be movable above said anvil to co-operate therewith, a detachable die carried by said holder and engageable with said Work, and a combined work-holding stripper plate and gauge detachably fixed to said base and extending over said anvil.

8. In a device of the kind described and in combination, a base member, an anvil fixed thereon, a wear plate of softer material than said anvil and detachably positioned on the upper surface thereof, a combined stripper plate and mask gauge detachably mounted on said base and extending over said anvil parallel to said wear plate, -a die-holder pivotally mounted ,on said base member and movable to and from said anvil above the latter, and a cut-out die detachably mounted on said die-holder and engageable with said wear plate.

9. In a shoe cut-out mechanism, thecombination with a work-supporting anvil memher, a work-cutting die operably movable thereagainst to out said work supported upon said anvil member, and gauge means intermediate said members and having an opening normally out of contact with said die and through which said die member passes while thelatter is moving toward said anvil.

DON DUN WILKERSON. V

a base having a work-supporting stilt anvil,

means mounted on said base adjacent said anvil and above the surface of the latter to selectively and removably receive a cut-out die whereby when said meansis actuated the die will engage against the upper surface of the anvil, and means for pressing said work against said upper surface of said anvil. 

